Though he knew he would be exhausted for the rest of the day, Harry nevertheless continued to cast his spells with a speed that would probably even impress the demanding peacock.

Even though he knew that they would prove to be next to worthless in the face of his magic teacher's wrath.

But since the difference between survival and death was often measured by the tiniest of fractions, he would do whatever he could to increase Blitzo's chances of talking their way out of their deserved punishment.

Though he highly doubted it since the only thing Stolas loved more than his romantic time with his 'Darling Blitzy' was his daughter.

And considering he hadn't noticed her presence until it was too late, there was a strong likelihood that he also would be punished for this…mistake.

Even if he did intend to immediately offer his support in ensuring that she was ok.

She was his friend after all.

And thus, he was concerned for her continued wellbeing.

"Huh, he took that better than I thought he would."

Briefly pausing from his spell-casting to shoot his employer a look of utter exasperation, for merely moments ago Blitzo was panicking about how sexual prowess would be insufficient in calming the Goetia Prince's wrath, Harry was sadly unable to comment.

For his wards gave him just a seconds notice before they were ripped to shreds by the explosive entrance of the fully demonic Stolas.

"BLLLITTTZZZZO!"

Luckily of course, both he and his mom had the presence of mind to duck behind the heavily enchanted couch as his magic teacher made his appearance.

But since Stolas was clearly doing nothing to hide how pissed he was, Harry suspected that hiding behind a piece of furniture was like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.

Pointless, and bound to get messy a second after it had bene put on.

Thankfully however, neither he, his parents, or Loona were currently the target of his teacher's wrath.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SOO IRRESPONSIBLE BLITZO?!"

Wincing in sympathy for his employer, for the failure to use any sort of pet name was a sign of just how pissed he was, Harry shared his dad's look of resigned irritation as Blitzo just made the situation worse.

Though he had to concede that he at least understood just how much he had fucked up.

"Wel…well you see Stolas, its not really my fau.."

"OF COURSE ITS YOUR FAULT! MY BOOK, THE ONE THAT I HAVE STRESSED THE VALUE OF COUNTLESS TIMES, WAS IN YOUR OFFICE! UNPROTECTED! AND WITHIN EASY REACH OF THE FEW THINGS THAT I VALUE MORE THAN MY LIFE! So you can appreciate it if I'm not exactly in the mood to hear your excuses Blitzy."

Poking his head from his hiding place since he felt Stolas morph back into his normal form, Harry felt himself flinch as his teacher turned his attention away from the understandably nervous Imp onto him.

"And as for you, my student. I trust that your fearing of my wrath will result in your best efforts to help me locate my daughter? I of course do not blame you for your failure to detect my daughter's presence. But ignorance is no excuse."

Nodding his head to show that he had no problem helping his teacher track down his wayward daughter, even if he suspected that Via probably had a good excuse for doing what she did, Harry felt the need to offer up a more verbal reply.

"Yo…you got it Master Stolas. Happy to help."

Cringing a little at how pathetic he sounded, which served to remind him that he had yet to fully abandon the 'I don't give a shit' attitude that he adopted during his time at Hogwarts, the repitllian eyed preteen was nevertheless relieved when Stolas merely accepted his response with an approving nod.

"Good. Now, all of you into Blitzy's office. Time is of the essence, and the longer we delay the longer my darling Octavia is out there helpless and alone."

Choosing not to comment on the fact that Octavia was fully capable of handling herself, provided of course that she was in the right mindset, Harry wordlessly followed his magic teacher into his employer's office.

Fighting the urge to grimace as the already opened portal filled the room with a stench that was near perfect mixture of vomit, weed, and smog, the young dragon Demon felt himself growing confused at Loona's less than pleased tone as she identified the human shit hole they would be visiting.

"L.A."

….

Despite her initial unease at visiting the human world by herself, something that had been temporarily increased when she had discovered that her magical reserves were too low to help her shift into her human disguise, Octavia was, for the first time since her parents' divorce, having fun.

Yes, it slightly irked her to be randomly approached by nerds who wished to know her 'cosplaying' secrets. Though they were far more tolerable than the leering creeps who announced their perverted admiration for her body.

And she had yet to find a suitable location from which to view the meteor shower she had hoped to watch with her dad.

But apart from that, she was enjoying the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.

A pity that she couldn't have brought Harry with her since he was sure to have pointed out, in his amusingly blunt manner, how the City of Angels was no different from a normal city in Hell.

But since she was likely to be punished for this little excursion, she didn't see any reason why her friend should suffer for her display of rebellion.

Especially since it would undoubtedly remind her dad of their last little trip topside.

And just like that, her good mood was ruined as she was reminded of why she had decided to steal her dad's grimoire in the first place.

She knew that tonight's meteor shower wouldn't live up to the image that had been building in her mind ever since her dad first promised to take her to see Azathoh's Tears.

But considering he was too busy venting the frustrations that had been steadily building for years, she would take what she could get.

Even if it only provided her with a momentary distraction from the explosive fallout that was her parents' divorce.

…

He loved his parents

Truly he did.

But that didn't keep him from feeling mortified as he watched his poorly disguised mom and dad gleefully get taken in by the wannabe pop idols of Los Angeles.

"Look at this one Honey. Doesn't the cover remind you of that job we did in New Orleans?"

"Your right hon! The colors are a bit different, but the pattern's the same. What do you think Harry?"

Reluctantly focusing his attention on the cd cover, Harry nevertheless had to admit that his dad was right.

The splatted artistry did remind him of the mess their past target had made after receiving a bullet to the head.

But that still wasn't enough to make him wish that Octavia had chosen this city to run away to instead of the more enjoyable cities of the United States.

New York had gangsters, deli sandwiches, and Broadway.

New Orleans had Cajun cooking, Po Boy Sandwiches, and swamp-dwelling red necks.

But Los Angeles?

Apart from the movie industry, it didn't really have a lot to offer except crime, pollution, and a large population of entitled hipsters.

Which was great for the business end of I.M.P.

But for a vacation spot? Not so much.

Which was why he tried to get his parents to focus back on the task at hand.

"Shouldn't we be getting back to our sear…"

"Now just a minute Harry. These artists have spent their time and effort to produce examples of their creativity. All the greats started this way. And I for one would like nothing more than to be the first person in line to help them on their road to success."

Seeing that his dad was too far gone to be reasoned with, and would remain so until his wallet had been picked clean by the so-called 'artists' of Los Angeles, the black-haired preteen turned towards his mother for help.

"Mom, can you tell dad that there are more important things than supporting these people? I mean, if they had enough talent to make it past the audition stage of some music competition, I might see the point. But considering their just con artists with access to a computer, plus the fact that Stolas has already expressed his 'displeasure' at our company's role in Via's 'disappearance', shouldn't we be…"

"Take a look at this one guys! Doesn't the cover do a good job of showcasing the artist's desire to rebel against the system?"

And just like that, Harry resigned himself to at least another hour of perhaps the worst bonding experience a child could have with their parents.

Having his time wasted by shopping for crap that made little sense to him.

…..

He knew that this was neither the time nor the place.

For every minute they wasted was another minute that his precious Owlette was lost and alone.

But with Blitzy acting in a manner that made him need to guzzle down bottle after bottle of conveniently packaged water, it was becoming very difficult to keep his eye on the prize.

Especially when another prize looked so firm and tight when encased in a pair of jeans.

A shame that the audience's approval of Blitzy's performance was caused by electronic prompters rather than any genuine appreciation of his acting talents.

But since his beloved Imp was clearly happy with his return to the stage, plus the fact that he had other capable people doing their utmost to find his daughter, Stolas was content to cheer on his lover as he returned to the career he had once enjoyed all those years ago.

"Oh, Uggie! You've gone and done it again. That's the fifth couch this year! I'm not made of money you know."

Doing his best not to feel jealous as Blitzy flashed a look of affection towards the mortal canine, Stolas felt his human-shaped mouth turn into a frown of concern as he noticed the slightly stiff way in which he spoke his next set of lines.

"You know, maybe it's about time I found you a new home. One that could hopefully put up with your attitude."

Sadly however, his lover's costars were unable to tell that Blitzy's mind was starting to wander away from his performance.

"I could take him, Mr. Ronnie! I'd be happy to adopt old Uggie and give him the attention he needs!"

Shivering at the blond child's disgusting display of innocence, for even if the audience couldn't see it he knew just what sort of savage monster could hide behind a smiling wide-eyed expression, the disguised Goetia kept his focus centered on his darling Blitzy as stuttered through his lines.

"Yeah... yeah, m-maybe, you should adopt...No!"

Tensing as he noticed the change that had come over his lover, for he suspected that this fake performance was causing his Imp to experience some sort of traumatic memory, Stolas felt a momentary flicker of sympathy for the blond child as she failed to realize what she was getting into.

"Oh but Mr. Ronnie, you just got.."

"I SAID NO YOU COKE SNORTING MIDGET!"

Sensing that Blitzy was about to explode thanks to whatever past trauma his onstage performance had triggered, Stolas was largely unsurprised by the now angry Imp's reaction to the gasping audience.

"Oh don't act all surprised! Anyone who's in show business is either doing drugs, or is one bad day away from injecting, swallowing, or snorting themselves into oblivion. Frankly the only difference between you fucks and homeless people is the fact that you can get the good shit when your not being cheap about it."

Slowly making his way to the stage, for he rightly suspected that he would soon need to rescue Blitzy from the anger of the mob, the disguised Goetia nevertheless had to recognize the dedication these human actors to their roles.

For he doubted that he would have had the patience to continue performing this little sketch when it was apparent that the star of the show was going off-script.

"I think you should let go of the dog .."

"FUCK THAT! SHE'S MINE AND I LOVE HER!"

Unsurprised that Blitzy had now drawn his weapon, for his lover was the type who preferred using violence to work through his personal trauma rather than talking it out, Stolas was momentarily frozen to the spot.

Not because his path was blocked by the wave of angry humans that wished to take down the now-firing Imp.

But because the sight of Blitzy's ruthless side was enough to make him feel as if it had been weeks since his last sip of water.

He knew that he couldn't let himself be distracted so easily.

But perhaps, his daughter would be okay for a few minutes more.

If only because it wasn't as if he was the only one who was searching for Via.

…

Though she was slightly out of breath thanks to all the running around she had done trying to pin down the wayward Goetia, Loona nevertheless had to admit that her little solo mission was what she needed to vent some of the frustration she felt towards Blitzo.

She was still pissed at what he said, and would waste no time in reminding him why he should never side with Moxxie against her, but the human-disguised Hellhound was now at least in a frame of mind to consider that the morning's unpleasantness had never happened.

And it was all thanks to the Owl's desire to escape from the shit show that was her parents' divorce.

Personally she would have picked a better place to go then L.A., but she had to admit that the teenaged Goetia was making the most of it.

Which coincidentally had caused her to spend the day racing from one photo-friendly place to another in an attempt to pick up the Owl's trail.

It had taken some doing, and had resulted in the occasional beatdown since humans tended to think that bare shoulders and midriff meant that she was a skank, but the currently human-shaped Hellhound had finally managed to track her quarry down.

She was fully prepared to give the teenaged owl a piece of her mind.

But unfortunately, Loona heard the girl's muffled sobbing before she could say anything that would have undoubtedly led to their usual exchange of insults.

And while she readily admitted to being a bit of a bitch when it came to people she didn't particularly like, she wasn't the type of girl to kick a person while they were already down.

At least without good cause.

Bracing herself for what sure to be an emotional scene, Loona dropped her human disguise in a swirl of magic as she made her way up the stairs.

"Hey."

….

Fighting the urge to groan at the familiar, if uncharacteristically affable tone of one of the less irritating presences in her life, Octavia wiped away her tears before she responded to the Hellhound's greeting.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

She already knew what the answer would be.

But it was still upsetting to hear it.

Even if her pseudo step-sister did her best to soften the blow with an unexpected, but nonetheless genuine comment.

"Helping your dad track you down. Which I point out would have been a lot harder if you hadn't kept posting your pics on to Instagram. Though I gotta say you got some talent there."

Though a small appreciative smile crossed her features at Loona's unlooked for compliment, it quickly morphed into a frown as she focused on the first part of the Hellhound's comment.

"Thanks. But I wouldn't even be up here in the first place if…fuck you probably already know."

Sighing as she proceeded to hug her knees, Octavia continued her much-needed rant.

"Its bad enough that I have to listen to my parents fight all the time. But to go to the effort to steal my dad's book just so I can see some bloody stars, only to learn that it was all a waste of time? Honestly, I should have just stayed home."

Shooting the smog-covered sky a look of disgust before she resumed her depressive pouting, not that she would admit to calling it that, the pink-eyed owl Demon felt a small smile grace her beaked face as the grey-furred canine offered up her own thoughts on L.A.'s less than spectacular skyline.

"Yeah. Smogs a bitch."

Though she was content to pass the remaining time in silence, even though she disliked the smell of Loona's cigarette, which she had been nice enough to light for her with a bit of magic after the Hellhound's repeated failure to light it herself, Octavia was sadly denied her hearts wish by the uncharacteristically soft voice of her companion.

"You know, your gonna have to confront your dad sooner or later. Its not like you can avoid him forever."

If her relationship with the female Hellhound had been less established than it already was, the teenaged Goetia imagined that she would have reacted to that sadly truthful observation with tears and a scoff.

But since she had nearly five years of interactions with the taller girl, partly because of their friendship with Harry and partly because their parents, adoptive or otherwise, had been involved in some weird love/fuck triangle, her reply to Loona's observation was more caustic.

"Well considering he can't even be bothered to come here himself; I'd say that I have a better chance of seeing him later rather than sooner. Especially since he'd rather spend his time screaming at my mum, or 'hanging out' with your adoptive father instead of keeping his promises."

Though Octavia's words caused Loona to momentarily frown in annoyance, if only because her tone was less than respectful when referring to the nature of her relationship with Blizto, the female Hellhound nevertheless managed to keep her tone even as she offered up her own observations.

"Honestly, I think your being a bit unfair when it comes to your dad. Yeah he's a bit of a goofy asshole when he doesn't have to worry about appearances, and I'm not even gonna go into how he acts when Blitzo is around, but it's obvious he cares for you."

Sadly however, the teenaged Goetia was still unwilling to let go of her frustration.

"Yeah well, he has problems with showing it at times. Anyways, why the hell do you care? Its not like were friends or anything. And you've made it quite clear in the paste that you despise me for what I am."

The reply she received to this display of emotion was not only shocking, but also somewhat endearing.

In a way that only a sarcastic goth girl could pull off.

"I don't hate you. I mean sure, you're a tad prissy, stuck up, and a bit bitchy at times. But I don't hate you. I mean, your are friends with Harry afterall. And anyone who that kid thinks is worth hanging out with has got to have some redeeming qualities. Even if I can't currently name any of them."

Starring at the taller female with a wide-eyed look of bewilderment, Octavia's face quickly adopted a smirk as she delivered her own thoughts in regards to the nature of their 'relationship'.

"Thanks. And I suppose that you also have some redeeming qualities. Even if they're rather hard to see when you're running that mouth of yours."

For a moment the teenaged Goetia thought she had overstepped.

But when Loona's slight glare morphed into a smirk, she knew that she hadn't.

"Touche princess. Touche. Now, how bout we stop this pity party and do something fun for a change? Way I see it, we've only got about half an hour before your dad starts going nuclear on this smog covered town. And while I couldn't really care less about the people who live here, I gotta admit that they do know how to mix a proper cup of coffee."

Though frowning at the reminder that she had to confront her father, Octavia nevertheless allowed herself to be led through the suddenly opened portal.

For while she was still wary of Loona's sincerity, she had to admit that she made an excellent point about L.A.

The populace was for the most part nearly as bad as the citizens of Hell. With some humans managing to surpass the cruelty of some of the more depraved Demons that sadly held sway in Hell.

But the fact remained that they at least knew how to make a decent cup of coffee.

Even if they had a tendency to overestimate its value in terms of cost.

…..

He knew he should be satifised with how their excursion to the Human world had turned out.

He had managed to successfully reunite his Goetia lover with his daughter. Ensuring that neither he, his business, or his employees would be incinerated by a pissed-off Goetia.

At least the one he was currently sleeping with.

Loona, after a swift kick to his fun parts, had forgiven him for his attempts to, as Moxxie put it, get her to act like a more normal company secretary.

And perhaps the most amusing of all, the kid had to spend the entire day vainly trying to convince his dad that not every human was a music artist.

But despite all this, Blitzo couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed with his little family.

He wasn't sure what unnerved him the most.

The fact that his daughter, who had in the past made her dislike of Stolas's daughter known, had begun to treat her in a manner that was similar in nature, if not intensity, to the way he treated Moxxie on the days where he actually proved his usefulness to the team.

The fact that the relationship between the M and M's, and their kid, was for the first time in recent memory showing tension. However brief and minor it was.

Or the fact that he was getting this weird feeling that his place of business was being watched by someone who had different motives than his lover, the King of Hell, and an Overlord infamous for his desire for entertainment.

He wasn't sure if it would come to anything.

But he was confident that if it did, the body count would be high.

…

And that's another chapter down.

I apologize for the delay, school stuff, issues with my living situation have taken up a good amount of my time.

And, to be honest, I found writing this chapter to be kind of boring. I suppose it had to happen sometime afterall, like with my other stories. But truth is I have felt a shrinking motivation to write recently. Every time I even try to go back to previous stories is….less than productive I shall say.

Hopefully its only a temp thing.

Anyways, that's the seeing stars arc out of the way. My ending to it was, well the way it was cause I didn't really feel that anything important needed to be changed from how it happened in canon.

With perhaps the exception of my take on the changing attitudes Loona and Octavia have towards each other. I confess that, along with some of the subtext in that particular episode when their being open with eachother, I have been motivated by fan comics and discussion boards, but it is an interesting dynamic. Not 100 percent sure on the final direction I will go, but since Harry is WAY to young for proper pairings with these two…the potential for a change is there.

Anyways…next arc I'll be working on, if I don't do a filler chapter on Hogwarts students enjoying their summer, will be Moxxie's mob backstory.

Anyways. Plz review…no flames.

Til next time.